1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Replica

May 30th, 2013

Although we’re having another hugely busy spell across all areas of our business, we simply had to make the time to share this car with you; a 1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Replica, which came in for an Enhancement Detail. While we have the privilege of working on many outstanding vehicles, this car was a true stand out experience, as it’s the first classic race sport (RS) 911 we’ve seen in our studio. These models, which always quicken the pulses of connoisseurs and collectors alike, are considered by many to be the greatest classic 911s of all time. If you’re in the mood to find out more about this superb replica, and for a little historic storytelling, read on to find out more…

The original car in the 911 RS series, the 1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7, was built so that Porsche could enter the 1973 European GT Championship (to be homologated for the Group 4 class, a minimum of 500 road legal cars had to be constructed). Production of the RS 2.7 started in early 1972 and its stunning performance made it an immediate hit. More than enough cars were constructed, securing Porsche’s entry to the championship. The rules allowed for some modifications to be made to the racing cars compared to the road cars. The most obvious difference between the RS 2.7 and its racing counterpart, the RSR 2.8, was the slight displacement increase (which, combined with a revised compression ratio, yielded an additional 100 bhp!) but other modifications included wider rear wheels, more strongly flared rear wheel arches and uprated brakes (to ensure that the fastest 911 to date stopped as quickly as it went).

At its racing debut at the 1973 Daytona 24 Hours, the RSR 2.8 immediately proved to be the car to beat; the example entrusted to the American private team Gregg/Haywood for this endurance test won unchallenged ahead of the 7 litre Corvettes and 4.4 litre Ferraris. Further success in endurance racing was had at the Sebring 12 Hours and the Targa Florio in the same year. In the European GT Championship, which the RSR 2.8 was originally designed for, it was almost unbeatable, winning six of the nine rounds and the championship. The values of original examples have soared in recent years, making them totally out of reach for many (think upwards of £400k!). The car we detailed in this case is a superb replica, built with the original cars in mind, but at the same time being refined and developed to make it even better. The car is based on a 1972 Porsche 911 2.4T, and mimics a Carrera 2.8 RSR, but with some subtle differences.

Brought to the UK in the 1980s, this car was campaigned in the Porsche historic championships as a Carrera 2.7 RS replica for a number of years with some notable success. From the late 1990s onwards it has been used mainly as a road car, but in 2008 a major rebuild was executed by a known specialist and at this time it evolved into its current specification. The bodywork has been modified using 2.8 RSR specification lightweight panels all round. It is fitted with a full but non-intrusive roll cage and comfortable bucket seats and four point harnesses. The engine was rebuilt in 2008 (to 3.2 litre specification) with new competition parts, and is thought to produce just shy of 300 bhp. The brakes and suspension have also been extensively upgraded and make the ideal balance for fast road or light track use. As a final note, the exhaust comprises an RSR style pair of cans that create an unbeatable and most pleasing soundtrack!

@Ryan – Yes, we’ve got two completely shot and just need to make the time to get them edited and uploaded. Unfortunately we also have three major new brand additions to take care of over the next month or so, which is going to make finding that time a little bit tricky to say the least! However, we’ll do everything we can to get them finished asap!

Hi guys, quick request – when you post photos of your detailing work can you also please add a couple of the whole car from front and back… it’s great to see the small details but it would be nice to see the whole thing! Great work!

@Mak – We do post whole car shots whenever we publish normally lit write ups online (usually on forums like Detailing World, but sometimes on here too) but the dark studio style photography we do doesn’t lend itself to making whole car shots, as elements of the background and floor would then feature in the shots, going against the grain of what we are trying to achieve (which is indeed picking out the main design details of the car in question). However, we will shortly be posting a lengthy write up on Detailing World about the work performed on the RSR shown above, and this will feature lots of normally lit whole car shots – keep your eyes peeled for it!

Accolades to the photography. I’m so enthralled with the shots of your car, I plan to replicate your replica. I have eight 911’s (the newest is a ’77 targa) in various stages of restoration, two ’73’s as well as a ’55 356 Speedster replica. I would be grateful if you could e-mail additional photos to be a reference especially some full shots? I assume the color is Guards Red, correct? Thanks, Bob.

Hi Bob, thanks for your kind words, and I’m glad we’ve inspired you! However, I’m afraid we don’t give out any images (for commercial reasons), but you can find a lot more showing the detailing work performed on this car (along with additional studio style shots showing the whole car) on Detailing World; just type “Polished Bliss®: 1972 911 RSR” into their search box to find it. As for the colour, it’s not Guard’s Red, but rather Tangerine Orange.